Departments of Labor, HHS, Treasury issue 2022 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Report to Congress
By HHS News Release
The U.S. departments of Health, Labor, and Treasury released their "2022 Report to Congress on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008" (MHPAEA). The report suggests that health plans and health insurance issuers are deficient in ensuring parity for mental health and substance-use disorder benefits to policyholders. The report noted that one health insurance issuer covered nutritional counseling for medical conditions such as diabetes, but not for mental health conditions such as binge-eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa. The report also pointed out that the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 provides departments with additional MHPAEA enforcement authority and more funding to implement it. In addition, the report details the departments' ongoing efforts to engage with stakeholders to curb stigmas that individuals with mental health conditions or substance use disorders often face. A fiscal year 2021 MHPAEA enforcement fact sheet highlights the Employee Benefits Security Administration's (EBSA) landmark settlement against United Behavioral Health and other enforcement data. EBSA has primary enforcement jurisdiction over MHPAEA for approximately 2 million health plans covering roughly 136 million Americans.
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